Unpacking The Closet

What does it mean to build a home when you've been forced to leave one behind? This week on Unpacking The Closet , we sit down with Eugene MaySky, activist, journalist, community organizer, two-time Emperor of the Imperial Court, tenant rights advocate, and one of the most influential leaders in Los Angeles' Russian-speaking LGBTQ+ community. Eugene's journey spans continents and decad...

What does it mean to carry violence in your body? Author Anna Storti joins Unpacking the Closet to unpack her book Torn and the layered intersections of queerness, race, and inherited trauma. In this conversation, Geri and Caitlin sit down with Anna to explore how systemic violence lives inside us and across generations, what it means to hold a mixed-race Asian-white identity in queer spaces, and...

The Solstice Series follows the eight points of the Celtic Wheel of the Year as living mirrors for queer identity, mental health, and the rhythms of becoming. Beltane (May) asked: what do you allow yourself to want? The Summer Solstice asks something harder: what do you do when you have it? When you're fully seen, fully lit, at the height of your energy and something in you still wants to hide...

By now you've probably heard of Heated Rivalry, the steamy queer hockey romance that became one of streaming's biggest hits, driven overwhelmingly by a female audience. And if you've been paying attention, you've also clocked the very different reaction some of those same women had when Bridgerton announced its first WLW season. Dr. Yamissette Westerband is here to unpack all of it...

Pride didn't start as a parade, it started as a riot led by Black and brown trans women who were tired of surviving. This episode is about knowing whose shoulders we're standing on, what they actually built, and how we honor that by refusing to be quiet about our joy. #Pride #PrideHistory #Juneteenth #blackhistory #queerhistory #June

Beltane falls on May 1st, the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. It marks the ancient Celtic beginning of summer: a fire festival rooted in themes of fertility, desire, abundance, and permission. For this show, those themes translate into something deeply personal: what do you allow yourself to want? What do you keep caged, and why? #beltane #summersolstice #solstice #mayday...

Kelly Balch has spent a career asking people to be fully present in front of a lens and what they've learned is that the camera is only part of the story. In this episode, we go deep into the emotional and psychological architecture behind Kelly's docuseries, what it means to witness someone's truth and hold it with intention, and how their own journey as a nonbinary, queer artist has...

What changes when girls, and especially queer girls, girls of color, and girls at the margins, are given real access to education, resources, skills, and spaces of creation and leadership? Christina Yoon has spent nearly two decades in construction and engineering asking that exact question. In this episode, we explore the systemic gaps that have historically shut girls out of the trades and STEAM...

Tiffaney Florentine has done everything right, by every external measure. Veteran. CIA. Management consultant. American Gladiator finalist. And still, she hit a wall. In this episode, we explore what happens when high-achieving women realize that success was never the thing they were actually chasing, the difference between performing strength and embodying it, and how the "hustle for love&qu...

What do a writers room, a bike commute, and Hurricane Katrina have in common? For Helen Krieger, they're all chapters in the same story: one about community, what it costs to lose it, and what it takes to rebuild it. In this episode, we explore how storytelling became Helen's entry point to both craft and civic life, and what it means to reclaim your queer identity when the world has quiet...

Art has always been one of the most powerful ways humans make meaning, and for queer and marginalized communities, it has often been the only space where our full truth could exist. In this episode, we'll explore how creative practice becomes a site of reclamation: how making art can help us process trauma, reconstruct identity, and insist on our own visibility. We want to hear about your work...

This episode goes into tender territory: the stories we hide, the shame we carry quietly, and what it looks and feels like when we finally let them out. We'll talk about the relationship between secrecy and identity, why shame thrives in silence, and how vulnerability, especially in queer and marginalized communities, can be one of the most radical acts there is. This won't be a heavy epis...

In this episode of  Unpacking the Closet , Geri and Caitlin sit down with UK-based author, playwright, poet, and performer  Kestral Gaian  (they/them) for a conversation about the radical power of storytelling. Kestral is the author behind The Boy From Elsewhere and the editor behind  Twenty-Eight , a groundbreaking anthology gathering voices from the Section 28 generation, the UK's original &...

In this installment of our Solstice Series, we’re exploring Ostara and the spring equinox, the moment in the year when day and night stand in equal balance and the light begins to noticeably return. In this episode, we unpack what we actually know about Ostara historically, including the 8th-century reference to the figure Eostre, and how modern pagan traditions have shaped the way the holiday is...

In this episode of Unpacking the Closet , we sit down with romance authors Rena Sapon White and Ella Schaefer , co-authors of Christmas Pick and Sweet Talk . We talk about what it means to write desire honestly, without softening it, straightening it, or explaining it away. From fantasy and flirtation to emotional intimacy and longing, Rena and Ella share how they approach writing women loving wom...

Welcome back to Unpacking the Closet! This season is all about connection, collaboration, and the joy we build together. In this opening episode, we introduce The Season of Connection and share why we felt called to shift toward community-centered conversations right now. The world can feel heavy and isolating. This season is our response. Instead of asking how we survive, we’re asking how we conn...

On February 17, 2026, a rare convergence of cycles aligns: the Year of the Fire Horse begins with Lunar New Year, an annular solar eclipse (“ring of fire”) occurs, and Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) marks a seasonal transition in the Christian calendar. In this episode of Unpacking the Closet, we explore the history, astronomy, and cultural context of these events to understand how humans mark threshold...

Valentine’s Day often arrives with unspoken rules: be partnered, be happy, be impressive, be chosen. But where did those expectations come from and who do they actually serve? In this episode of Unpacking the Closet , Caitlin and Geri slow Valentine’s Day down. Grounded in history, cultural context, and the work of bell hooks, they explore how love shifted from a loosely defined feast day into a h...

In this episode of Unpacking the Closet , we continue our Solstice Series with Imbolc, an ancient Gaelic seasonal observance marking the quiet return of light. Rooted in early Irish history and folklore, Imbolc arrives at the threshold between winter and spring, a time traditionally associated with preparation, care, and survival rather than celebration. We explore what historians and scholars can...

The New Year is here, but instead of reinventing ourselves, what if we chose to return to ourselves? In this cozy, reflective episode of Unpacking the Closet , we talk about why “New Year, New Me” culture is unrealistic, capitalist, and often harmful, especially for queer folks, chronically ill folks, and anyone who’s exhausted from trying to overperform their worth. Together, we explore: 🌱 Soft...

Across cultures, across centuries, across pantheons, queer stories have always existed. This week, we’re unpacking the myths history tried to sanitize, erase, or rewrite. From the shapeshifting chaos of Loki to the battle-worn destiny of Shikhandi… from Sappho’s tender lyric longing to the tragic beauty of Hyacinthus… we’re reclaiming the lineages that belong to us. We also explore the seasonal fi...

In today’s Solstice Series episode, we’re diving into Yule , one of the oldest winter traditions celebrated around the world. From Norse fire festivals to Japanese yuzu baths, we explore the global history of the winter solstice and why this season resonates so deeply with queer and chronically-ill communities. We break down:✨ Pagan origins and ancient Yule rituals✨ Cross-cultural winter celebra...

This week on Unpacking the Closet , we’re diving headfirst into the glittering, chaotic world of queer Christmas movies, and we brought our wives along for the ride! From Carol to Happiest Season to sapphic ranch romances and drag-filled holiday musicals, we’re unpacking what queer representation brings to the season: joy, softness, visibility, and chosen family warmth. We explore why these films...

This week, we slow down and write the letters we wish we had growing up. In this intimate episode, Geri and Caitlin reflect on the moments that shaped them, the messages they needed to hear, and what it means to offer yourself compassion across time. 💌 From navigating shame and uncertainty to celebrating the beauty of queer becoming, this episode is a love letter to our past selves, and maybe you...

This week, Caitlin and Geri gather ‘round the queer table to talk about chosen family , the people who make us feel at home, even when “home” doesn’t look traditional. From Friendsgiving potlucks to candlelit rituals, we explore the beauty of building new traditions, redefining family, and celebrating belonging. ✨ Plus: How to create cozy, inclusive rituals for small spaces, how queer communities...